I have a corkboard in my room that I call my failure board. On it I keep notes about all the contests and queries I’ve sent that were rejected.
Really early in my writing journey I decided I would keep track of all the times I failed as a writer. While blindly believing I would be a published teen author, I was also, somehow, vaguely aware that the journey to get from writer to published author would be a difficult one.
I entered a few contests that would publish the winner’s manuscript. I also have entered a few shorter things to short story, essay, and poetry contests. The most notable of which was the CBC Short Story prize.
But why do I have a failure board? Why keep track of when I don’t succeed?
I think the main reason is so that I had a record of where I had started and how far I have come. The problem with only looking at successes is that they are not a true measure of the work that it took to get to that success. By having a failure board, I have a timeline of what I was writing, what I thought was my most impressive work, and the kinds of things I pursued, thinking they would bring me closer to success.
Most of the things on my failure board I’m glad didn’t work out. There are four separate novels that I submitted either to publishing houses or contests. If they had won, I would have these published novels that I have since rewritten, scrapped, or revised to the point of not being able to recognize the story I initially submitted.
In the case of the 3Day Novel, it wasn’t until after the contest had ended that I realized the book wasn’t meant for the public. It was meant for me. It was a spiritual journey God had helped me through. Those two 3Day Novels were basically therapy for me. They are not the novels I want published, and I’m glad I didn’t win.
My failure board is not meant to shame me. My failure board is an encouragement, and in the case of my novels, a relief about the ways in which my writing could have gone and thankfully didn’t. I don’t keep a failure board as a way to attack my confidence as a writer. My failure board offers me a picture about where I’ve been, where I’ve come from, and how I have progressed through my writing journey, both in the types of writing that I do, but also in the ways I understand success.
It’s a bit of an odd question, but are there failures of which you’re proud? What have you learned about yourself, your writing, and your understanding of success through failure?
Chiante,
So enjoyed your post!
Oh yes, our successes AND failures are both part of the writing journey.
I especially found this comment insightful: “I think the main reason is so that I had a record of where I had started and how far I have come. The problem with only looking at successes is that they are not a true measure of the work that it took to get to that success. By having a failure board, I have a timeline of what I was writing, what I thought was my most impressive work, and the kinds of things I pursued, thinking they would bring me closer to success.”
I do track my progress but I never saw so clearly the value of keeping our failures in mind. Excellent! Thank you.
Brenda xox
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I’m hoping to do a part 2 on my success board as well 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed the post!
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